A cutoff looms...
The cut off to reach McGrath is 10 days from the start of ITI to Mcgrath, meaning that the 350 mile race will officially be over by 2pm AKST tomorrow. Brian Hamilton on foot, Eric Thomason also on foot, and Doug Amidon on ski are the remaining 350 mile ITI athletes still making their way towards the chicken pasta in McGrath. They’ll be there soon!
In the 1000 mile event, we’ll see Joshua Brown on ski finish before the evening, taking the river trail rather than haul road to the village. Behind him on the river trail is Hendra Wijaya on bike, and Petr Ineman on ski. These three slept on the Kuskokwim River last night.
Opting to take the haul road are Mark Hines on foot followed by 350 mile Brian Hamilton, and our other 350 mile footer Eric Thomason.
Why take one way to get to McGrath over the other? The haul road route consists of meadows and forest, meadows and forest, and sometimes moose post-holes. This segment is a simple snowmachine trail, although closer to McGrath it begins to feel like a road that isn’t very well plowed until closer to the village. There are some hills, though not too many, and eventually the trail drops into town. A red flashing light on a tower in town flashes as progress is made towards the racer's destination, though they beware because it can be seen from miles away which sometimes makes advancing feel slow. The river trail follows the Kuskokwim River and occasionally through sloughs and wooded parts. There are several small steep climbs on or off the riverbank, which can make those traveling with rolling suitcases (aka bikes) work a little harder than if they were on the haul road. Do racers prefer the river trail or the haul road to get to McGrath? It’s tough to say, and each person may have their own opinion! It truthfully comes down to the weather and which route athletes think will get them to the next checkpoint swiftly and safely.
Out in front on the adventure to Nome, Tyson and Miron took off down the Yukon at 10am AKST, after a nice rest in Ruby. In that amount of time they’ve made it about 11 miles on bikes, and we do hope they keep pushing towards Galena this evening - with Philip Hofstetter 30 miles behind them on the trail they’d likely prefer to keep moving forward! Kinsey Loan, on bike, left Ophir this morning and is making her way towards Cripple, currently resting at the first shelter cabin along the way, traveling with Mark Moeller. Speeds along the Innoko River looked like racers were working through tough conditions, though as soon as the trail heads north it appears that the trail firms up. Tiziano Mulonia and Thomas Miller have been holding promising speeds on bikes today (nearly 5mph!) There are two cabins along the way to the Iditarod checkpoint, the Carlson Crossing Cabin, where Ben Pysto took a nice rest, and the N Fork Innoko Cabin not too far from Cripple. *Carlson Crossing is called Collins Crossing on the Trackleader’s map, FYI!
Asbjoern Skjoeth Bruun on ski is trudging on, followed by Gavan Hennigan on foot. Brandon Lott on foot is moving past Ophir. Ryan Wanless has caught up to Leah Gruhn, 2023’s 1000 mile women’s bike champion, and she now has a tracker for us to check in on. PHEW! We were starting to get nervous. “Do what brings you joy, and help others to find joy. … and don’t be afraid to dig deep and bury yourself from time to time.” Leah posted an update early this morning with some beautiful photos rolling into McGrath. Beat Jegerlehner on foot is steadily making his way towards Ophir.
Faye Norby and Jeff Leuwerke left McGrath this morning towards Nome. Faye admitted to us that she loved sitting in McGrath for a bit to see the excitement and exhausted faces of some of the 350 finishers. Julie is doing an amazing job taking care of everyone and the outpost is looking great since she was there last in 2022. She expects to be on snowshoes for the next few days and is hoping that the trail firms up when it cools down at night. As put by Jan Francke who is in the 1000 mile ski and chose to travel the river route, “this is just Alaska and these are decisions you have to make and fight with.”
In McGrath, new and old friends are sharing stories with warm food and comfortable accommodations. What we wouldn’t give to be in that vicinity sharing stories and feeling shelled with those athletes! Our red lantern racer has just about 21 miles to get to McGrath before the 2pm cut off, and we’re cheering them on with all of our hearts!
Written by Jill Martindale
Photo of the haul road from Amber Crawford in 2020.